West Africa must invest in education resilience before crises hit – Dr. Apaak

The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has called on West African countries to invest in resilient education systems before emergencies occur, rather than waiting until crises have already disrupted learning.

Dr. Apaak made the call on Tuesday, September 29, when he delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Education Minister at the 2nd High-Level Conference on Scaling Education Initiatives in Emergencies (EiE), West Africa, in Accra.

He said conflicts, climate shocks, health emergencies and economic pressures continue to threaten children’s access to education across the region, making resilience an essential part of education planning.

“First, invest in resilience before the crisis, not only response during it,” he said.

According to Dr. Apaak, risk analysis, contingency planning and safe school infrastructure are critical to ensuring that education systems can continue functioning when emergencies occur.

“Risk analysis, contingency planning and safe school infrastructure cost far less than rebuilding after the fact, as COVID-19 showed when systems had to improvise remote learning almost overnight,” he said.

He also called for stronger capacity at the regional and district levels, saying education authorities must have the data, mandate and planning tools required to respond quickly when crises occur.

“Our systems must be designed to bend without breaking,” he said.

Dr. Apaak further urged governments and development partners to provide sustained funding for education interventions that have demonstrated positive results, rather than limiting them to short-term projects.

“Accelerated Education Programmes, community-based learning, low-technology remote learning and low-cost foundational learning innovations deserve sustained, predictable funding, not one-off project cycles,” he said.

He identified equity, stronger domestic financing and regional cooperation as other key priorities for protecting education during emergencies.

The ACCELERATE+ conference is focused on using research and evidence to strengthen education responses during emergencies.

Participants are examining what works, for whom, at what cost and under what conditions, with a focus on vulnerable and out-of-school children.